ボケる

• 読み: ぼける
• ローマ字: bokeru
• 発音: /bo.ke.ɾɯ/

意味

To grow senile; to become forgetful with age; to space out. Can also mean to play the fool in comedy.

A Group 2 (ichidan) intransitive verb. Has two distinct uses: (1) medical/daily — age-related cognitive decline or absent-mindedness, and (2) comedy — playing the straight man's counterpart who says something silly (ボケ). Context determines which meaning applies. Often written in katakana.

例文

1. 最近ボケてきたのか、約束をよく忘れる。
2. 祖母は少しボケてきたが、まだ元気だ。
3. 彼はいつもボケた発言をしてみんなを笑わせる。

使い方ガイド

場面: aging, comedy, daily conversation

トーン: colloquial

起源と歴史

Originally written as 惚ける, meaning to become absent-minded or dazed. The comedy usage developed from the manzai (漫才) tradition where one performer plays the foolish role (ボケ) against the straight man (ツッコミ).

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal